Sen. Dan Sullivan has little clue about Arctic security issues in Alaska, nor does he know what the Nome port has already done historically to destroy my Alaska Native culture. He knows little to nothing about how complex the engineering issues are with the port expansion. Sen. Sullivan throws around like candy the notion that people from Nome are totally behind an Arctic port.
We are not all behind this crazed port notion; for one, it has never brought down the cost of anything, which was the first lie that hooked some of us. Let me provide the sour grape of truth. On Oct. 23, the senator falsely indicated the U.S. Navy needs a port in the Bering Strait. Previously, at a Senate Committee hearing, the Secretary of the U.S. Navy (the most powerful on the planet) indicated the fleet has no need for an Arctic port. The senator indicated that Russians and Chinese are running around all over the Arctic. During the House impeachment hearings, Acting Director of National Intelligence James Maguire said there is no kinetic threat from Russia or China.
We in the Arctic desire a zone of peace, and all those Russian and Chinese scientists running around the Arctic probably want the same thing. The senator seems to favor spreading false information on important matters of public reason. And for cripe’s sake don’t tell me what is good for my ancestral home.
In November 2018, the Government Accounting Office assessed Arctic threats and the need for ice-hardened vessels. The GAO found the Arctic is at low risk for conflict, that the Department of Defense has the capabilities to execute the 2016 DOD Arctic Strategy, and the U.S. Navy has the capabilities to operate in the Arctic with its present ships, submarines and aircraft.
— Austin Ahmasuk
Nome
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